US TikTok deal could be safer but less relevant, experts say

ByteDance has reached a deal with a group of investors to run TikTok's U.S. business, a move designed to address U.S. security concerns by isolating American user data and reworking how recommendations are generated. Under the arrangement, Oracle will license TikTok's recommendation algorithm and retrain it on American user data, with MGX—the Abu Dhabi government investment fund—and private equity firm Silver Lake joining as primary investors. The structure is meant to preserve access for U.S. users while strengthening governance over how the app operates inside the United States.

Analysts say the central question is not whether TikTok survives but what version of TikTok survives. Matt Navarra, a social media industry expert, told the BBC that the shift could make TikTok feel “safer and sturdier” but could also render it less culturally essential if the platform’s signature edges are smoothed too aggressively. “TikTok’s power has always come from feeling slightly out of control—weird, niche, uncomfortable, sometimes politically sharp content,” Navarra said. “If you start smoothing those edges, you don’t just change moderation. You change its relevance.”

Whether the U.S. version will mirror the international product may depend on whether it receives the same features, security updates and platform improvements as soon as the global version, tech journalist Will Guyatt told the BBC. Computing expert Kokil Jaidka of the National University of Singapore said she expects the core attraction—short videos and shopping—to stay intact, since those features do not rely entirely on the algorithm. The changes, she said, could be more subtle and gradual if the narrower data inputs of the U.S.-siloed version fail to match the global platform’s reach. “If TikTok is operating with a licensed or partially diluted version of its recommendation algorithm, some of the system’s blind spots may start to matter more,” she said, adding that the U.S. algorithm could lag in personalization as a result.

The arrangement may heighten safety and compliance, but investors’ influence could also make the U.S. app feel blander, Navarra said. “The real test isn’t whether users leave,” he added. “It’s whether TikTok still feels like the place the Internet goes to experiment—or if it becomes the place it goes to behave.”

The debate over the deal centers on how a U.S.-centric data setup and a partly licensed algorithm will affect TikTok’s identity and growth. Experts stress that the test will come down to user engagement: will Americans continue to see a platform that feels experimental and culturally resonant, or will it drift toward a more cautious, safety-focused experience?

Additional reporting by Peter Hoskins.